Conservative MP Peter Kent, a former journalist, says broadcast consortium doesn't have monopoly on televised federal election debates. 'We quibbled over format, we quibbled over set design, we quibbled over timing,' he says.

Bill Blair led in a public opinion poll in the riding of Scarborough Southwest with 42 per cent support, compared to incumbent NDP MP Dan Harris at 34 per cent, according to a Forum Research poll of 587 voters conducted April 26 and released yesterday.

'A lot of people who voted Conservative are going to be voting for the Liberals. Our tent is growing, and I think itâ€™s a great sign,' says Toronto Liberal MP Chrystia Freeland about her new caucus colleague, former Conservative MP Eve Adams.

Unlike three other statues of former prime ministers the Public Works Department moved to safer spotsâ€”because they were directly located on excavation or temporary building sitesâ€”Public Works managers kept the statue of Pearson where it was and surrounded it with the plywood hoarding for protection.

While some say Elizabeth Mayâ€™s performance raises legitimate questions and will serve as future partisan fodder, others argue reaction to the failed comedy act, hardly the first of its kind, has been overblown.

The Forum Research poll showed that Quebecers, Canadians aged 55 to 64 and those who earn $60,000 to $80,000 are more likely to support the Liberal plan. The poll also found that 40 per cent of Conservative voters and 39 per cent of NDP voters support the Liberal plan.